Montgomery County in Maryland is teaming up with five local banks on a new program designed to encourage more bank lending to small businesses.

We won't have another nationwide bubble for 35 years or so. By then, cautionary tales from 2007-09 will seem irrelevant to those with modern skills and advanced risk management capability.

The Federal Trade Commission won a $2.6 million federal court judgment against three defendants behind a scheme that charged consumers high upfront fees and failed to deliver the mortgage modifications they promised.

FDIC loss-sharing deals are significantly down this year as failures get smaller, bidders become more competitive and the economic situation improves.

Though bank deals have risen in Texas because of its robust economy and in California because of abundant capital, small Kansas banks are partnering because they worry about their viability as little guys.

Navy Federal Credit Union in Vienna, Va., has established a commercial loan participation program in which it will buy business loans from other credit unions that are nearing their cap on business lending.

The bank joins the lengthening list of major institutions which have opted to stop fighting the case.

KeyBank engineered a low-dollar consumer lending product that makes money and pleases consumer advocates. The template's there for anyone who cares to look.

Camden National Bank in Maine has agreed to sell a branch in Rockland, Maine, that it is buying from Bank of America (BAC) because of competition concerns raised by the Justice Department.

The thirst for greater clarity about capital spending and valuations is prompting bank buyers and sellers to flock to cash.

QCR Holdings (QCRH) in Moline, Ill., has repaid about a fourth of its money it received from the Treasury Department's Small Business Lending Fund Program as part of its effort to increase its tangible common equity.

Sterling Financial (STSA) in Spokane, Wash., is selling all of its Montana branches as it aims to become more efficient and improve its overall profits. Eagle Bancorp is buying the branches for $7.3 million.

In a last-minute reversal, David H. Stevens, the president and chief executive of the Mortgage Bankers Association, will remain at the trade group rather than departing to run SunTrust Mortgage, as he announced plans to do a month ago.

Seeking to diversify following its public offering in May, EverBank Financial (EVER) in Jacksonville, Fla., announced Monday that it is buying a commercial lending unit from GE Capital for $2.5 billion in cash.

Historically low interest rates and weak loan demand have masked the long-term profit potential of core deposits. When (not if) the cycle turns, community banks' earnings power will reappear.

In a slow stretch for issuance of bank shares, companies looking to raise capital for acquisitions have come to the fore in offerings that have performed relatively well.

The effective tax rate for banks has dropped to a range of roughly 30% to 32%, down from a range of roughly 32% to 33% in the years leading up to the recession. Recoveries of deferred tax assets might be the reason.

New intel from the research arm of American Banker examines how the channels banks use to communicate with customers are changing.

Hit by thin client performance issues, Washington Trust deployed new software to streamline the storage process during a systems migration.

Even a mobile and web heavy financial institution can benefit from brick and mortar. USAA is using touchscreens and videoconferencing to provide advanced advice and help lightly staffed stores.